Draft mechanism



H. E. DOERR.

DRAFT MECHANISM APPLICATloN FILED MAR. 3|. 1919.

/AINMI UNITED sTATss sATsNT oFFicE.

HARRY E. DO'ERR, OF ST. IIOUI'S, MISSOURI, ASSIG-NQR T0 SCULLIN STEELGO., 0F S-T.' Y

LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPQRATION OF MISSOURI.

DRAFT MEcHANIsM.

1'0 all 'whomz't may concern.'

Be it known that LTI-IARRY E. DoERR, a citizen of the United States,residing at St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis and State 5 ofMissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in DraftMechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to draft mechanism.

In most draft arm constructions used nowadays there is an offset at thebody bolster, the draft arms running straight from the front end of thecar back to the body bolster and then inclining upwardly and over thebolster, the arms usually being secured to either the sides or bottomsof thc sills. This type of draft arm has the disadvantage oftransferring the impact of the blow on the coupler through the draft armto the top member or portion of the body bolster. This should beobviated.

Accordingly, one object of my invention is to overcome this and otherdisadvantages and to provide a simple, durable and compact draftmechanism wherein the draft arms and the body bolster are connected inan improved manner to meet all the requirements under serviceconditions.

This and other objects are accomplished by means of the mechanism shownon the accompanying sheets of drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a planview of draft mechanism embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the samearrangement, the draft arms being shown in full lines and the bodybolster and connecting parts shown in dot and dash lines;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary e'nd view of the draft arms showing theirassociation with the body bolster and means for connecting said partstogether; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken in the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

VThe various novel features of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing de-V Specifcaticn of Letters Patent. Ptgnd. S91}1; 21,15;.;2()

Application' filed March A31, 1919. vserial No. 286,273.

inclining upwardly land passing over the same, are reduced vertically atthe body bolster in order that the draft arms may passin arstraight linethrough and extend beyond said bolster. ably pass through spacedopenings 14 in the body bolster 13 and are secured to adjacent verticalflanges 15 of the body bolster by rivets 15 which may pass through holes16 in said flanges. Not only are the draft arms 10 secured to the bodybolster at the flanges 15, but they are also rigidly connected tothebody bolster by gusset plates 17 at the rear of the body bolster and'gusset plates 18 in front of the body bolster. These gusset plateskconnect the upper and lower flanges 25 and 26 of the draft arm to theupper and lower flanges 19 and 2O of the body bolster, said parts beingsecured together by suitable rivets 24. These draft arms are securedbeneath the center sills 21 of the car which overlie the body bolster. Areinforcing plate 22 also is interposed between the upper surface of thereduced rear portion of the draft arm and the overlying portion of thecar center sills, said plate 22 being These draft arms v10 prefer-Vsecured to the draft arms and body bolster by suitable rivets 23.

By means of this construction the impact of the blow on the coupler isnot transferred through the draft arms to the top of the body bolster,but properly distributed throughout the depth of the bolster.Furthermore, the construction is simple, compact and rigid, and adaptedto meet all the requirements under service conditions.

It is my intention to cover all modifications of the invention fallingwithin the spirit and scope of the following claims.

' I claim:

1.y In draft mechanism, the combination of a bolster having openingstherein, integrally formed draft arms extending through the saidopenings' and being secured to said bolster, and gusset membersconnecting said draft arms and bolster.

2. In draft mechanism, the combination of a bolster having openingstherein, integrally formed draft arms extending through said openingsand being secured to said bolster, said bolster and draft arms havingflanges, and gusset plates secured to the flanges of said arms andbolster.

3. In draft mechanism, the combination of a body bolster having openingstherein and adjacent flanges, single piece draft arms extending throughsaid openings and being secured to said flanges, and gusset platesconnecting said draft arms with said bolster.

4. In draft mechanism, the combination' of a body bolster havingopenings therein and associated vertical flanges, said bolster alsohaving upper and lower laterally extending flanges, draft arms extendingthrough said openings and being secured to said vertical flanges, .saiddraft arms having upper and lower laterally extending flanges, andgusset plates connecting the upper and loWer flanges respectively ofsaid draft arms and bolster.

5. In draft mechanism, the combination of an integrally formed bolsterhaving an opening therein, an integrally formed draft arm having areduced portion extending bolster at the reduced portion of the draftarm.

Signed at St.Louis, Missouri, this 24th day of March, 1919.

HARRY E. noERR..

